njglover Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Seeing as the whole idea (for me) of having the Helix was to not have to bring an actual amp to gigs, I was getting sick of needing to have an FRFR with me for monitoring and though I'd try a dumb idea: using the Helix to run my in-ears. The way I have it hooked up is the in-ears come out of the headphone out since I am running them wired and I have a cheap little omni mic plugged directly into the XLR input (the Naiant X-T, basically an older version of this: http://naiant.com/studio-electronics-products/microphones/x-o-omnidirectional-condenser-microphone/).I run the mic on its own path and set the output of that path to digital only so it doesn't come out of the XLR, which are feeding the mains, and make sure the headphone out is set on multi so I still get the mic in my in-ears. Adjust the volume of the mic, and the high/low cut to taste (or just EQ it in general) and ta-da! Cheap in-ear monitoring. And since the mic is sitting on the back of the Helix (could extend it out somewhere if desired), I can still get the engineer to just run the standard monitor so I can hear vocals or other modeled instruments. I finally tried it out at a gig two nights ago and it worked surprisingly well. I will definitely be doing this again, heard myself better than I ever have before (especially since I was playing bass with no amp, running that through the monitors would be a disaster). I suppose future improvements could be made by going wireless and feeding the transmitter from the 1/4" outputs and sending mic path to that only (or just feeding it from the board), but as a very cheap solution it works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsdenj Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Why not pull the in-ear input from your PA monitor mix? That way you would have pretty complete control of what you hear and where you hear it from the whole mix, it would be consistent no matter what the rest of the monitor setup might be, and wouldn't require any mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njglover Posted June 19, 2016 Author Share Posted June 19, 2016 Why not pull the in-ear input from your PA monitor mix? That way you would have pretty complete control of what you hear and where you hear it from the whole mix, it would be consistent no matter what the rest of the monitor setup might be, and wouldn't require any mic. Would theoretically work and be better, but most of the venues around here aren't using powered monitors, so there's no way to pull it straight off the monitor. In situations where you can, and if the engineer will let you/isn't frazzled by it, that would be a great option and still nice and cheap. The mic has the additional benefit of allowing you to hear your bandmates talking on stage and the audience, though, so that way you don't feel as closed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelThorpe Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Any mixer worth its salt will have AUX sends you can use for monitor mixes in your IEM. You may only have the option for a couple monitor mixes, but they should have an AUX send you can use for IEM. But this is the reason I built my own monitor mix setup with a split snake so I can control all that myself and the FOH doesnt have to worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leftzilla Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Yeah the split snake is kind of the key. That way you can run your own monitor mix on stage without affecting the FOH. My band picked up a Behringer Powerplay Pro because the local clubs had inconsistent monitors. So we designed up a small in ear system to give each person their own custom headphone mix. The next step is getting a wi-fi digital mixer and then each person can adjust the mix via their phone. We have used it live in Montreal and rehearse with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njglover Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 I feel like you guys all just play different places than I do. Everywhere I play has installed systems, no way am I going to convince them to unplug their aux sends from the power amps in the rack by the stage to feed my in-ears. And they are certainly not going to send a wire from the board to the stage just for me (nor should they, what a safety hazard). I had a hard enough time convincing an engineer to run wireless in-ears when I had them once upon a time. The beauty of this system is that it is both cheap and does not depend on an incompetent or uncooperative engineer in any way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelThorpe Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Well 9 out of 10 times, if they are sending AUX sends to poweramps for the monitors they are doing so through a snake. You can jsut take the 1/4" or balanced and instead of going to the poweramps just go to your in ears. It shouldnt matter to them either way. In either case they still have to mix. I've played lots of different rooms and even if they are set up with wedges already they liked the idea of in ears. Its one less thing to cause feedback because of wedges. Plus stage volume couldnt be lessened. They were happy to let me unplug the wedge and patch in my ears. You may run into the occasional grumpy guss, but if you just ask which send from the snake is your wedge then just unplug it and plug it into your in ears. It doesnt have to be difficult. Just be gracious and switch it back at the end of the night otherwise the sound guy may gripe to who runs the venue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njglover Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Well 9 out of 10 times, if they are sending AUX sends to poweramps for the monitors they are doing so through a snake. You can jsut take the 1/4" or balanced and instead of going to the poweramps just go to your in ears. It shouldnt matter to them either way. In either case they still have to mix. I've played lots of different rooms and even if they are set up with wedges already they liked the idea of in ears. Its one less thing to cause feedback because of wedges. Plus stage volume couldnt be lessened. They were happy to let me unplug the wedge and patch in my ears. You may run into the occasional grumpy guss, but if you just ask which send from the snake is your wedge then just unplug it and plug it into your in ears. It doesnt have to be difficult. Just be gracious and switch it back at the end of the night otherwise the sound guy may gripe to who runs the venue. Ah, this is true. I think the snake is usually on the wrong side of the stage from me for that, but that makes more sense and I might be able to convince them. Some of the engineers around here are pretty incompetent and don't really understand things that go direct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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